Back where they belong: Aston Villa’s return to European glory
Another unforgettable European night took place in Istanbul as Aston Villa claimed their first Europa League title and their first trophy in 30 years. Aston Villa’s journey in the last ten years has been a rollercoaster from suffering a relegation and play-off final defeat to regaining promotion to the Premier League and competing against Europe’s elite teams. Now, they have finally returned to where they belong, competing at the top level and winning their first European trophy since that glorious night in 1982, where Villa defeated Bayern Munich in Rotterdam to win the European Cup. So how have Villa made such a remarkable turnaround in such a short period of time?
Villa’s rise back to the top of European football began when Unai Emery was appointed as Villa manager in October 2022. In his first press conference, he stated two ambitions for his tenure at the club. Firstly, he wanted to win a trophy with the Birmingham club, a sleeping giant who had gone too long without silverware. His second goal was to take Aston Villa back into Europe, after a 13-year drought. Emery possessed the credentials to support his goals and offer Villa fans with hope as he had previously won the Europa League 4 times with Spanish clubs, Sevilla and Villarreal. It seemed that Emery could finally be the manager to take Villa back to the top of European football.
Villa had the players and the ‘Europa League specialist’ in Emery to claim glory
In his first season in charge, Emery certainly delivered on his ambitions, securing Conference League football, taking Aston Villa from 15th place to 7th in the league table. The following season gave this developing Villa squad its first taste of European football and the claret and blue army also secured a Champions League spot for the next season after finishing 4th in the Premier League. Now that the squad had experienced two seasons of European football, Villa now felt comfortable with the challenging schedule that came with competing in multiple competitions. On the final day of Emery’s second full season in charge, Villa fell short of qualifying for the Champions League and consequently fell into the Europa League. Even though the original goal for the club and players was Champions League football, this was perhaps a blessing in disguise for Villa. They were favourites to win the competition and had the players and the ‘Europa League specialist’ in Emery to claim glory.
Villa breezed through the league phase of the competition, winning seven of their eight games, impressively finishing second out of 36 teams. Displaying no signs of stopping in the knockout stage, Villa defeated French club, Lille 3-0 on aggregate and then cruised past Bologna 7-1 after both legs. An all-midland derby awaited Villa against Nottingham Forest in the semi-final. After a slow 1-0 defeat at the City Ground, Villa delivered one of their performances of the season at a roaring Villa Park, smashing Forest 4-0 to send the Villains to Istanbul.
It was German club Freiburg who stood between Villa and European glory – a team which had only previously been in one final before this one in their 122-year history, which came recently in 2022. It has to be said that the club had a very impressive European campaign going into the final, defeating Genk, Celta Vigo and Braga in the knock-out stages, scoring 15 goals and only conceding six. A major part of their success had been set pieces ‘with eight goals coming from dead-ball situations.’ Furthermore, the bravery of the side was also displayed as ‘their shot numbers show a willingness to take risks going forward’ with 191 shots taken in Europa League this season. Even with the numerous threats Freiburg possessed, Villa were still huge favourites heading into the final, with a superior squad and superior manager.
Support for the Villa boys echoed and roared from their home in Birmingham
10,000 hungry, excited Villa fans descended on the Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul, relishing the thought of a night they would never forget. Support for the Villa boys echoed and roared from their home in Birmingham with thousands of fans packing out pubs, fan zones, arenas, and even Villa Park’s local pub, the Witton Arms. It was now up to the team to deliver on one of the biggest stages in club football.
Even though Freiburg have shown they can be dangerous from set pieces, Villa are also adept at utilising dead ball situations effectively, having scored 17 goals from set-pieces in the league this season. Once again, it was a set-piece opportunity that broke the deadlock in the final. A corner was presented for Aston Villa towards the end of the first half; left-back Lucas Digne played it short to Morgan Rogers who executed a beautiful, pin-point accurate cross to Youri Tielemans, who was on the edge of the box. Tielemans has proven to be a big game player, having scored the winner for Leicester City in the FA Cup final in 2021, and he certainly delivered again smashing a volley into the bottom left corner to put the Villains ahead.
Many fans and players would have definitely taken a 1-0 lead at halftime. However, Villa did not put the brakes on as they pressed forward to get a second. Captain John McGinn found his teammate Emiliano Buendia in a pocket of space on the edge of the box. The Argentinian, who had scored some brilliant goals in the league campaign, again demonstrated his technical brilliance as he curled the ball, on his weaker left foot, right into the top left corner. Villa fans watching across the globe went into delirium as they watched Villa take a 2-0 lead going into the second half. They were only a nerve-racking 45 minutes away from writing themselves into Aston Villa history.
Freiburg simply did not have the quality to break down the organised, experienced Villa team
Victory was sealed in the 51st minute when Buendia displayed some silky footwork to beat the Freiburg defender and crossed the ball into the box. It was received by Villa’s number 27 Morgan Rogers, who showed his desire to reach the cross first and comfortably tap the ball into the goal, making it 3-0 to the English side. The Villa forward once again showed why he is England manager, Thomas Tuchel’s, first choice for the number 10 role heading into the World Cup.
The rest of the half proved to be very comfortable for Villa; Emiliano Martinez had very little to do and Emery’s men could have easily scored more if they had taken their chances. Freiburg simply did not have the quality to break down the organised, experienced Villa team. The full-time whistle blew and Aston Villa were crowned champions of Europe once again. Captain and longest servant of the club John Mcginn lifted the trophy in front of the emotional and hysterical Villa fans whilst his Royal Highness, Prince William, watched along thrilled and amazed.
The celebrations did not end there as the following afternoon, Aston’s heroes brought the trophy to the streets of Birmingham as the traditional trophy parade commenced. More than 20,000 supporters were estimated to have been in Centenary Square to see the players lift the trophy. The city had not seen scenes like it as claret and blue smoke billowed from flares as flags were flown.
The future is looking bright for Aston Villa as they managed to get back into the Champions League
The win is an incredible achievement and all Villa fans will undoubtedly define these players and their manager as legends of the club. However, is Villa’s Europa League victory and their season overall underrated by the rest of the football community? Before the season even started, Villa were heavily restricted in their ability to spend and buy new players to add to the team. This was through Villa marginally missing out on Champions League football and their wage structure as 91% of the club’s revenue was spent on wages. These factors contributed to Villa spending the least amount of money out of every Premier League club in the summer transfer window. Emery had to rely on signing players on loan, such as centre back Victor Lindelof; many fans were initially underwhelmed by this signing, but the Swedish defender ultimately played a crucial role in Villa’s European and league campaigns. The little additions made to the squad clearly illustrates the sheer level of quality that were already part of the team and the elite levels of coaching displayed by Emery and his staff.
We must not forget that many of the players who featured in the Europa League final were players who Emery had inherited when he arrived at the club. Players such as John McGinn and Tyrone Mings have been Villa signings since the club were in the Championship. Other key members such as Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins and Boubakar Kamara have also significantly developed under Emery, becoming some of the best players in their positions in the league. Unlike other managers who have had to ‘splash the cash’ to gain success and enhance their squads, Emery’s tactical genius and elite coaching has been the main reason for Villa’s recent rise and success. The future is looking bright for Aston Villa as they also managed to get back into the Champions League. If Villa keep hold of Emery, their top players and bring in a couple of elite additions to the squad, who knows what the future holds for our Villa boys from Aston.
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